The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) applauds efforts by people living with HIV in Uganda to stand up against the proposed “Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009”, and urges HIV service providers in the country to join them by making a clear, collective public statement condemning the proposed legislation and calling for its immediate dissolution.  If enacted, this legislation will have a profoundly detrimental impact upon the effort to address HIV in Uganda.  Implementing organizations dedicated to delivering HIV & AIDS prevention, treatment and care services in Uganda have contributed enormously to fighting the epidemic on the ground, and as such are uniquely positioned to speak out against the bill - especially those implementers receiving significant funding from large global donors like PEPFAR and the Global Fund.  Moreover, implementers have an obligation to the health and safety of all people in the communities they serve, including gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), their families, their loved ones, and agencies who work to provide them essential health services.  Protecting and promoting public health includes weighing in on any debate that threatens to undermine HIV service implementers’ ability to deliver effective public health programs.

The MSMGF is deeply concerned about the ways in which the proposed anti-homosexuality bill will undermine the nation’s efforts in addressing the HIV epidemic:

First, the bill is very clear with regards to people living with HIV:  anyone charged with the offense of aggravated homosexuality will undergo HIV testing, and all those found to be HIV positive are subject to the death penalty. Simply put, one’s HIV status is grounds for execution. This proposal not only reinforces stigma, discrimination and violence against people living with HIV, it is an outrageous violation of human rights and should be roundly condemned by all committed to the effort to end HIV.

Read the full letter on msmgf.org.